ACR Convergence 2024, taking place Nov. 14–19 in Washington, D.C., offers a rich opportunity to advocate for pro-rheumatology policies.
In-person meetings are an invaluable way to build relationships with your members of Congress and their staff and to show the human impacts of federal policies. Lawmakers and their staff prioritize meetings with constituents, and your visit will come as Congress is considering a critical end-of-year funding package.
Interested in meeting with your representative while you’re in town for ACR Convergence 2024? Here’s how to get started planning your meeting.
Identify your representative. The “Find Your Representative” tool at www.house.gov can help you identify your member of Congress based on your ZIP code. Alternatively, the ACR advocacy team can help connect you by providing office contact information. Reach out to ACR staff member Paige Colston for more information.
Determine which issues you want to address. Before you make your meeting request, think about your goals. The ACR can help by suggesting topics that are moving on Capitol Hill, such as Medicare payment reform or prior authorization legislation. Providing details and goals for your meeting can help get you on your representative’s calendar and ensure your meeting is productive for everyone involved.
Request the meeting. Once you’ve identified your representative and the goals of your meeting, you’re ready to reach out to their office with your meeting request. Many members of Congress have meeting request forms on their websites, but if yours does not, call and ask for contact information for the office scheduler. If possible, be flexible in your availability, keeping in mind that schedules for members of Congress often fill up a month or more in advance.
Prepare, prepare, prepare. Prepare for your meeting by learning as much as possible about your senators and representative and their priorities. Once you have a meeting scheduled, reach out to the ACR advocacy team, which can help brief you on their voting history and policy priorities. Also, take some time to think through your talking points, particularly if you’re advocating for a specific policy or legislation. Your lawmaker will be most interested in how this policy impacts you and your community, so prepare your story before your meeting.
Attend the meeting. At the beginning, introduce all attendees and then segue into a discussion of your goals. If you’re asked a question that you don’t know the answer to, it’s fine to say that you don’t know and offer to follow up later. When advocating for a policy, try to get a commitment from your representative or ask if there’s additional information that would be helpful for their decision making. Remember to always be respectful and professional. If you use social media, ask to take a photo of the meeting to share online with your followers and tag your representative.
Follow up after the meeting. After your meeting, be sure to express your appreciation by sending a thank-you email to your representative and/or their staff. If any additional follow-up information was discussed, be sure to include it with your thank-you note or give a timetable of when they can expect to hear from you again. Feel free to offer yourself as a resource as they consider policies that may impact rheumatology or healthcare. If appropriate, you can also thank your representative on social media or in a local letter to the editor of your local paper.
